STANTON – Authorities are investigating the death of a man found shot in the chest in the parking lot of a motel, authorities said Tuesday.

The shooting is believed to have occurred inside the man's car, while he was sitting along the 10800 block of Beach Boulevard, said Gail Krause, spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

The man apparently made his way out of the car by the time deputies arrived, she said. They found him on the ground.

The shooting was reported just before 11 a.m. in the parking lot of the Chester Inn Motel, said Lt. Roland Chacon.

Paramedics were called, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

The man's death is not believed to be a homicide, Krause said. Investigators are trying to determine whether the man committed suicide or shot himself in the chest accidentally. He has not yet been identified.

An evidence team works in the parking lot of the Chester Inn Motel, where a man was found dead in Stanton. KEN STEINHARDT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Investigators work in the parking lot of the Chester Inn Motel, where a man was found dead. KEN STEINHARDT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Detectives and deputies investigate in the parking lot of the Chester Inn Motel, where a man was found dead. KEN STEINHARDT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
detectives search the area as they investigate in the parking lot of the Chester Inn Motel, where a man was found dead. KEN STEINHARDT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A deputy returns down to the ground floor after canvasing rooms for information. KEN STEINHARDT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A detective and a deputy investigate in the parking lot of the Chester Inn Motel, where a man was found dead. KEN STEINHARDT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A deputy coroner investigates in the parking lot of the Chester Inn Motel, where a man was found dead in Stanton. KEN STEINHARDT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The Chester Inn Motel is where a man was found dead this morning in Stanton. Orange County Sheriff's deputies are investigating. KEN STEINHARDT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A deputy coroner prepares to transport the body of a man found dead in the parking lot of the Chester Inn Motel in Stanton. KEN STEINHARDT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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